3/06/2014

Sitting Ducks

Ducks. They might not sound like the most interesting
subject for a feature film. Perhaps ducks could fuel a foodie flick, since
rich, fatty duck meat is one of the most delicious things on the planet. BBQ
duck, Peking duck, and duck à l’orange are all reasons to cry, “Om nom nom nom!”
What happens, though, when the ducks disappear?

This question acts as a startling motivator for Joel Heath’s
impressive documentary People of a
Feather. Heath joins members of the Inuit community on the Belcher Islands
in the Hudson Bay to study the patterns and life struggles of the local eider
ducks. Funny and frumpy little birds, the eider ducks are, but their down
offers the warmest feather in the world. This down has been a source of wealth
for the local community, as the refined design of the down makes for a warm and
sturdy coat.

The ducks, however, are dwindling because large hydroelectric
dams have been installed to generated power for southern Canada, New York, and
eastern North America. These new dams are changing the water currents, which in
turn alters the ice flow and makes it hard for the ducks to survive.

Heath captures the ducks in their natural habitat using some
truly stunning underwater cinematography. Watching the ducks dive and gulp up
conches is a spectacular visual feat, not to mention a sight that is surprisingly
evocative. Patient observations of the ducks show them losing a struggle
against the manipulations of their ecosystems, as one particularly powerful
scene sees one duck fight for its life as it tries to escape the fast moving
water, break through the ice, and come up for air. It doesn’t, and Heath
captures it as another victim trapped beneath the ice.

The ducks aren’t the only ones affected by the changes. People of a Feather extrapolates the
plight of the ducks into wider questions of community action. The Inuit and the
ducks are people of a feather, for the film contrasts the community’s
adaptation to the changing environment with dramatic recreations depicting how
the inhabitants of the island lived a century ago. The film looks to the past
to make sense of the present, as the episodes show the community working
together and, in turn, becoming caretakers of the ducks as they break the ice
to keep the ducks alive, for the loss of the ducks carries great implications
for the people’s own welfare.

People of a Feather
makes an intuitive feat of using one ecological trouble as a microcosm for
greater environmental concern. The film, however, is often far too meandering to
deliver the point with persuasive power. Beautiful nature scenery and time
lapse photography allow one to appreciate the changing landscape and the threat
that global warming poses for ducks and people alike, but add to these sequences
extensive hunting scenes, random interludes of young people rapping, and the
effective if redundant dramatic episodes, and the point is muted. The ducks are
powerful enough, but People of a Feather
rambles and quacks a bit too much.

The film also omits the obvious point that the Inuit
themselves are part of the culture that contributes to global warming. Fuel and
electricity consumption make demands for the dam, yet Heath never asks the
community why they have adapted to conveniences of modern living—i.e. they use gas-powered
snowmobiles/ all-terrain buggies and electronic conveniences like stoves, televisions,
and iPods—instead of favouring the traditional ways that are more sustainable. The
hunting episodes do illustrate the resourcefulness of the people, especially
when they catch a seal and quickly dismember it into useful bits, the dramatic
episodes, on the other hand, make the absence of resistance a logical gap in
the film and therefore offer little more than tangential nostalgia. People of a Feather looks to the past,
but it doesn’t actively use it to interrogate the present. It asks questions
for rhetorical purposes, but it doesn’t look for answers.

People of a Feather
does make clear, though, that a technology as simple as a downy feather should inspire
humans to forge innovative ways to fuel their newfangled ways and keep the
ducks quacking. The visual power of the film offers a necessary call to action.
If we do nothing, then we’re just a flock of sitting ducks.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)

People of a Feather is now available to rent or buy on Vimeo on
Demand.